But everything changed for him during the first set of two-a-day
practices before the start of the Las Vegas summer league. He reached
back for a loose ball, fell and landed hard on his knee. He played in
five games, averaging 18.4 points, knocking down 14 of 26 three-point
shots.

And then everything changed again. Foye was resting before it was time
to start preparing for camp when the Wolves traded Kevin Garnett, their
gemstone, to the Boston Celtics. The franchise, just like that, was
starting over.

"I had to amp up my workouts, because they called and [said] they
expected big things from me, that they wanted me to come back 2 weeks
earlier," Foye recalled. "I wanted to impress them, show how hard I had
been working. That’s when I aggravated [the knee]."

He arrived wearing fur-lined tundra boots and before he switched into
sneakers, somebody said if Gerald Green really wanted to impress with a
dunk, he’d do a between-the-legs windmill slam wearing those boots
rather than just stocking-footed, as he did in Saturday’s NBA All-Star
slam dunk contest in New Orleans.

Wittman said he would tweak his starting rotation
over the final 30 games for a broader overview of what the Wolves have
to work with. He eagerly awaits the impact of forward Theo Ratliff, who
has missed all but six games recovering from knee surgery but is
inching closer to returning.

"I want to see what happens when Theo comes back and
when he plays alongside Al (Jefferson) and how Al reacts to Theo," the
coach said.

Wittman said he expects to play Richard more the rest of the season
than he did playing 9.2 minutes a game in 24 of the Wolves’ first 51
games. The rookie dressed for but didn’t play in Tuesday’s 104-88
victory over Philadelphia.

"Even in practice, he’s more confident, more active," Wittman said,
referring to Monday’s practice and Tuesday morning’s shootaround. "He’s
looking for the ball more than he had before. I think that time there
should be a big help."